Gold Coast cyclone: AFL looks to go ahead with Thursday's season opener between Brisbane and Geelong
The AFL plans to go ahead with their season opener in Brisbane, while keeping a close eye on Cyclone Alfred.
The tropical cyclone is set to cross between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane on Thursday when the Lions are slated to kick off the 2025 season at the Gabba against Geelong.
Alfred could intensify into a category-two system, with winds at the centre of the cyclone currently at 95 km/h and gusts of up to 130 km/h.
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No call has been made yet on the Lions-Cats match, with AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon saying the game could be called off as late as Thursday morning.
Alfred is expected to slow down and move towards the Queensland coast on Tuesday but where it exactly will make landfall on Thursday or Friday is still uncertain.
Dillon said at Monday’s season launch media conference in Sydney that contingency plans are in place if the game has to be moved.
The two teams have byes in round three.
“It (the forecast) has already slightly changed in the last 12 or 24 hours,” Dillon said.
“We’re three days out from the game ... the game is scheduled for Thursday night.
“For every game, we have contingencies and there are options with byes and the like.
“At the moment, the game is scheduled for Thursday night and the Lions are working towards that, as are Geelong and as are the AFL.
“The deadline (for a decision) will be when we know actually what’s going to happen.”
Dillon said the league is liaising with local authorities about the weather.
The AFL boss had also spoken with Lions boss Greg Swann on Sunday night and again on Monday morning.
“Our opening game is a big game, but it’s not the main game,” he said.
“The main game at this stage is for us to be in contact with the Queensland government and the bureau of meteorology.
“The main game is actually that the people of southeast Queensland and northern NSW are safe and that’s the focus now.”
The NRL has also yet to make a decision on the Friday fixture between the Dolphins and South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium.
But the Dolphins remain confident the match will go ahead as planned, with the Rabbitohs considering bringing their flight north forward from Thursday to Wednesday.
